Lexington, KY - A recent consultant's study for the Jockey Club on the status of the horse racing industry concluded that casinos, online poker and poor public perception of horse racing in general were major reasons for the steep decline in the industry. Many in the horse business seemed to accept those findings.
"The industry is undergoing a major correction. It is downsizing in virtually every respect from the number of stallions in service to the number of foals to the number of race days to the number of races," commented Bill Lear, a trustee at Keeneland and chair of the board of directors at Stoll Keenon Ogden, one of the largest law firms in Kentucky and a founding partner of Keeneland 75 years ago.
The Jockey Club is now undertaking a multimillion-dollar series of initiatives to try and reverse the downward trend.
Stoll Keenon Ogden can trace its support for the equine industry all the way back to its formation in the late 1890s. In 1935, Stoll Keenon Ogden attorneys performed the work to prepare the initial legal documents for the creation of the central Kentucky jewel that became Keeneland. Another of its attorneys was primary legal counsel during these formative years, and two other attorneys were on the first Keeneland board of directors.
"The very first board meeting was held at our law firm office. We were there literally from the start," added Lear.
The firm has offered counsel to race tracks, equine organizations, breeders, owners, trainers and various other equine practitioners on everything from financing to international transactions and litigation to taxation, with everything in between.
If there has been one steady word of advice SKO has offered Keeneland these last few difficult years it is patience.
"It appears things have bottomed out and we are rebounding a bit, but even at that, things are well below what they were five years ago," Lear said.
Keeneland president and CEO Nick Nicholson said that in his leadership role it is comforting to know the organization is represented by a law firm that has been on board all 75 years of Keeneland's existence.
"When the citizens of Lexington came up with this idea in 1935, they didn't know how to incorporate any of it. They just had a good idea. The implementation of those ideas was done at Stoll, Keenon Ogden," explained Nicholson.
In the age we live in, where relationships are sometimes measured by just months, Keeneland has one in Stoll Keenon Ogden that can be measured by eight decades.
As for Lear's personal contributions, Nicholson said the attorney, local developer and former Lexington council member brings "solidity and consistency, with a lot of perspective." Lear is "very generous with his time. A lot of it is volunteered. He's a good counselor in the highest sense of the word," Nicholson said.
Perhaps a more tangible way SKO is offering support to Keeneland and racing in general is with dollars. Stoll Keenon Ogden is sponsoring The Phoenix Stakes on Oct. 7. The $175,000 Phoenix is the oldest stakes race run in the United States, dating back to 1831 at the Kentucky Association track in Lexington.
"This is probably the single largest sponsorship we've done and the first time we've been a race sponsor," said Lear. "But we felt that with the way things are going in the industry now, it was the right time for us to step up. It's a measure of our support for the industry and for Keeneland."
Keeneland and SKO both support the nine key recommendations in the Jockey Club report. They are: increased television coverage, a free-to-play website, creation of a social media game - perhaps similar to Farmville - and fewer and better races and smarter scheduling to increase the size of the field and to showcase the best
product.
Other suggestions include innovative wagering platforms, track-integrated advanced deposit wagering, racing integrity reforms, ownership through greater transparency and the dissemination of best practices from other racetracks around the country.
Next month, Keeneland will begin implementing one key recommendation: quality TV coverage. The first two weekends of Keeneland's meet will be on national TV and presented in the same format as "Summer at Saratoga" was presented.
Nicholson is also excited about the new emphasis on social media, designed to attract new and younger fans.
"For businesses, especially those in entertainment, it's important to communicate with people in the manner in which they want to be communicated with," said Keeneland's CEO.
Nicholson admitted that Keeneland, just by its very nature, can sometimes "camouflage" problems in the industry. A day at this beautiful track can take an owner's or breeder's mind off his or her troubles.
"This is our 75th year. I think that, at its core, racing is still as exciting to watch and pleasurable to attend as it ever was," Nicholson said. "The ambience at Keeneland is special, on a beautiful fall day or a lovely spring day. It's like a mini-vacation out here."